Cocaine found in platform shoe heels

An American man was charged with smuggling drugs after customs officers found cocaine stashed in the heels of women's platform shoes in his luggage, the Government said yesterday.

The 27-year-old had arrived on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles on Saturday. Customs officers searched his suitcase, finding cocaine in three pairs of platform shoes. Six packages of the drug were also hidden in the suitcase lining, said Federal Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison.

Several hours later, customs officers found cocaine on a 36-year-old Spanish woman who had arrived on a Qantas flight from South Africa.

Ellison said both seizures netted almost 9kg of cocaine with a street value of A$2.7 million ($3.2 million).